Jharkhand budget session begins, governor lists state’s achievements

More than 18 lakh individual toilets have been constructed as part of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yozana, Murmu said, adding three districts, 60 blocks and 1,314 gram panchayats have been declared open-defecation free (ODF).

The Raghubar Das-led government has also launched initiatives to bring Maoists to the mainstream. Express Photo by Kevin D’Souza.

The Jharkhand government is committed to achieve the goals of women empowerment, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Jharkhand Skill Mission and Johar Yojana, Governor Droupadi Murmu said on Wednesday in her address to the Assembly on the inaugural day of the budget session. The BJP government has set new landmarks in taking the state forward on the path of prosperity, Murmu said.

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“The government has made efforts through its ‘together with all, development for all’ initiatives… It has uplifted backward sections, primitive tribes and involved everyone in the administration and development process,” the governor said. Jharkhand has become an investment hotspot, drawing industrialists from within the country and abroad, she said.

Enumerating the recent achievements under ‘Momentum Jharkhand’, Murmu said the state has attracted investments worth Rs 6,669 crore, provided employment to 49,097 people and laid foundation stones for 200 projects. “Under the Corporate Social Responsibility, Rs 1200 crore were spent on education, health and skill development. The state has also set a target to build 1, 59,052 houses by the end of this year as part of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (rural),” the governor said.

To empower women, 1, 13,969 ‘Sakhi Mandal’ (training camps for skill development) have been set up comprising 14, 27,503 families of 11,590 villages. “Under Johar Yojana, the government is trying to increase the income of two lakh rural families through agriculture, pisciculture, animal husbandry and skill development. On one hand, this would benefit SC/STs, on the other, fifty per cent women farmers would be benefitted,” she said.

The Raghubar Das-led government has also launched initiatives to bring Maoists to the mainstream. In 2017, 12 left-wing extremists were killed, 558 arrested and the police recovered a levy of Rs 1.41 crore from them. The state has also set up a Special Intelligence Bureau, modeled after Andhra Pradesh’s information system. An online FIR system has been launched in the state and fire brigade services have been modernised, the governor asserted.

Murmu also said the state is committed to root out corruption and a total 160 arrests were made by the Anti-Corruption Bureau last year. To root out malnutrition, the government, under the National Food Security Act, 2013, is providing 35 kg foodgrains for Re 1 to 9,00,055 antyodaya families, the governor said. A total of 9.9 lakh families were given gas connections while the target is to cover 28.5 lakh families by March this year, she said.

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With an aim to strengthen the public distribution system, the vehicles carrying grains have been enabled with GPS-based tracking systems, she said. More than 18 lakh individual toilets have been constructed as part of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yozana, Murmu said, adding three districts, 60 blocks and 1,314 gram panchayats have been declared open-defecation free (ODF).